De Maasduinen National Park

De Maasduinen National Park
Coordinates: 51 ° 34 ′ 59 ″  N , 6 ° 5 ′ 53 ″  E
Location:	Limburg , Netherlands
Next city:	Mountains
Surface:	approx. 4500 ha
Founding:	1998
National park map

The National Park De Maasduinen ( German  National Park Die Maasdünen ; Dutch Nationaal Park De Maasduinen , formerly Nationaal Park De Hamert ) is one of currently (as of 2019) 21 national parks in the European Netherlands .

location

The park is located in the south-east of the country in the northernmost part of the Limburg province . It is bounded in the west by the Maas and the Dutch provincial road ( Provinciale weg ) 271, in the north by the A 77 , which merges into the A 57 in Germany . In the east, the national park borders directly on Germany in two places , with some areas in the east near the German border being inhabited or used for agriculture and therefore not belonging to the park. In the south it is bounded by the district of Arcen , which is now a district of Venlo . Its length from northwest to southeast is about 23 kilometers with an average width of 2 to 4 kilometers, while it is only a good hundred meters wide at its narrowest point near Afferden . The area of ​​the national park in its current size covers about 4500 ha (45 km² ) and is mainly in the area of ​​the municipality of Bergen (Limburg) and to a much smaller extent in the district of Gennep .

history

The region was shaped during the Glacial Vistula and thereafter by the Maas and Rhine rivers , which changed their bed several times and deposited sediments such as suspended matter , gravel and sand.

Some finds, such as arrow and spearheads and axes, as well as burial grounds and burial mounds , of which the Vorstengraf (princely grave) is the most important, bear witness to a settlement in pre-Christian times . An archaeological dig has not yet taken place in this grave.

De Hamert National Park , named after the nature reserve of the same name, was founded in 1996 . Two years later (1998) the national park was expanded to the north by more than double its original area to about 42 km² and has been called De Maasduinen ever since . Due to further increases in area, it now has an area of ​​approx. 45 km².

The area is mainly owned and managed by the municipality of Bergen, the private foundation Het Limburgs Landschap , the state forest administration Staatsbosbeheer and privately owned.

Landscapes and natural spaces

Reindersmeer in the National Park

The national park includes different natural spaces and landforms and is one of the most diversified in the Netherlands. There are still a few wet meadows on the short strip of shore where the park borders directly on the Meuse . Further to the east, on an already sandy subsoil, there are some smaller plots with dry or poor grass . To the east of this, the main part of the protected area is a zone of sickle and parabolic dunes and bog areas . The river or inland dune belt , which was formed from the drifting sand of the river deposits, is one of the most important and the longest in the Netherlands. These areas were partially planted with conifers at the end of the 19th century or at the beginning of the 20th century for fortification or have the typical vegetation forms of heathland or moorland. Both in the west and in the east there are pastures and meadows that are excluded from agricultural use.

The most important flowing waters are the Meuse and, at a considerable distance, the Niers Canal .

The largest lakes is the Reinders sea , one arising on the loss of sand and gravel in the years 1971-2001 Stretch , which must not be used for recreational activities and its natural evolution is left. It is connected to the Leukermeer by means of a small - not navigable - canal , another quarry pond that is now open to tourists , immediately outside the national park, and further along with the Maas. Other, much smaller bodies of water have emerged from former peat cuttings .

nature

Maasduinen

Flora and fauna

Various plant and animal species can be found depending on the natural environmental conditions. Thus, for example, marsh marigold ( Caltha palustris ), autumn crocus ( Colchicum autumnale ) and the Tonquil ( Juncus effusus find) in the more humid regions, while u in the sand and dunes embossed areas. a. Sand-sedge ( Carex arenaria ), Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris ), stalk ( Quercus robur ) and sessile oak ( Quercus petraea ) occur and in the heath and marshes, for example heather ( Calluna vulgaris ), Gagelstrauch ( Myrica gale ), or Blue Moorgrass ( Molinia caerulea ) as well as the lung gentian ( Gentiana pneumonanthe ), which occasionally also grows on the wet meadows.

In addition to numerous other animal species occurring in the national park, only a few are listed here as examples. In reptiles and amphibians are u. a. the smooth snake ( Coronella austriaca ), the slow worm ( Anguis fragilis ), the sand lizard ( Lacerta agilis ), the forest lizard ( Zootoca vivipara ), the natterjack toad ( Epidalea calamita ) and the common toad ( Pelobates fuscus ). In the avifauna there are, in addition to other species, the goat milker ( Caprimulgus europaeus ), the tree falcon ( Falco subbuteo ), the buzzard ( Buteo buteo ), the golden hammer ( Emberiza citrinella ), the marsh harrier ( Circus aeruginosus ) also the colored ( Dendrocopos major ), green ( Picus viridis ) and black woodpecker ( Dryocopus martius ) as well as the kingfisher ( Alcedo atthis ), which is also rare here . The crane ( Grus grus ) can be found in the park's logo . To mammals to some of the family find Marten belongs (Mustelidae) species as well as other well beaver ( Castor fiber ), red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) and deer ( Capreolus capreolus ) or bat species Common Pipistrelle ( Pipistrellus pipistrellus ) and brown long-eared ( Plecotus auritus ) . Among the insects you can find a number of dragonfly and butterfly species that are rare in the Netherlands today .

Interventions in natural development

Although the area is classified as a national park, (more or less unavoidable) regulatory measures or interventions in the natural balance continue to take place. For example, the existing conifer populations are at least partially being gradually replaced by deciduous trees . Meadows, pastures and heather are grazed by sheep, goats and ( Galloway ) cattle, and heather areas are mowed or plowed in order to prevent these natural areas from becoming overgrown. In the moor areas, the aim is to prevent the nutrient balance that exists today from fundamentally shifting.

tourism

Three reception points have now been set up for visitors to the national park, all of which are in the west of the park area near Provincial Road 271:

• In the north, near the village of Afferden, there is the “De Zevenboom activity center”.
• In the middle part is the recently built “De Maasduinen visitor center” between the towns of Well and Nieuw Bergen .
• On the southern edge about halfway between Wellerlooi and Arcen is the “Jachthut op den Hamer reception point”.

All three reception points have parking spaces and can be reached on foot from nearby bus stops. While school projects and activities for registered participants are offered in the “Activity Center De Zevenboom”, the other two access points have a tourist infrastructure with restaurants and sanitary facilities. From here, the National Park area is accessible by means of a number of signposted hiking trails , some of which have also been specially created for electric wheelchairs , as well as designated cycle paths , mountain bike routes and bridle paths .

Web links

Commons : De Maasduinen National Park  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the national park (Dutch)
• National Park De Maasduinen In: holland.com (German)

Individual evidence

1. ^ National park website, location and map , Dutch
2. ^ Website of the national park, cultural history , Dutch
3. ↑ Website of the national park, history of origin ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , German 
4. ↑ Website of the National Park, Plants ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , German 
5. ↑ Website of the National Park, Animals ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , German 
6. ^ Website of the national park, management , German
7. ↑ Website of the National Park, receiving points ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , German